JD Sports remains cautious as Q2 sales dip

British sportswear retailer JD Sports has stated that organic sales improved for Q2 2025 in North America and Europe. Sales in the UK declined, affected by tough comparisons with the same quarter last year, when the company benefited from the Euro 2024 football tournament.

In its Q2 statement for the 13 weeks to 2 August, JD Sports reported that total group organic sales increased 2.2 percent to 3.1 million pounds. This is down three percent on a like-for-like (LFL) basis.

The quarter was driven by tough market conditions in the UK. Total sales were 806,000 pounds, with LFL sales down 6.1 percent, and organic sales dipping 4.5 percent. This was mainly attributed to the retailer’s strong performance during the summer of sport last year. This included Euro 2024 and the Olympics. The Women’s Euros did not have the same impact.

Total sales for Europe hit one million pounds, with organic sales up 5.4 percent and LFL sales down 1.1 percent. North America’s total sales were 1.1 million pounds, up 4.8 percent in organic sales and down 2.3 percent in LFL sales.

Regis Schultz, chief executive officer of JD Sports, said in a statement: “We are making strong progress in developing our omnichannel customer proposition, store footprint and supply chain. We are controlling our costs and cash effectively. I am proud of all our teams across the globe for their energy and focus against tough trading conditions.” Schultz continued: “For Q2, in North America we saw an improved performance following the deferral of several product launches from Q1, along with stronger sales trends in apparel and online. In both Europe and the UK, we were annualising tough comparators from the Euros football tournament last year. We still saw a good underlying performance in apparel and from newer footwear lines.”

JD Sports continues to grow market share in North America and Europe

JD Sports, Vancouver flagship store Credits: JD Sports

JD Sports said it was a “resilient performance” in North America, its largest regional market. This accounted for 36 percent of Q2 sales, led by JD and DTLR fascias. This was helped by new openings in Q1 in Las Vegas and Vancouver. It also reported a “good performance” in newer footwear lines, following a shift in the product launch schedule from Q1. There was also a “strong performance” in apparel, even though it is a smaller proportion of its category mix in the region.

The UK and Europe represent 26 percent and 36 percent of Q2 sales, respectively. These regions were driven by sales in apparel, performance-based footwear, and value-oriented footwear styles, especially for women and juniors. JD Sports also added that it has reported “strong results” from its new Trafford Centre store in Manchester, which opened in June. This is the retailer's largest store to date.

JD Sports did note that it has made “strong progress” against strategic objectives across omnichannel customer proposition, store footprint, supply chain and North America operations. It was maintaining trading disciplines with controlled price investments, particularly online.

On overall trading conditions through Q2, JD Sports said it remains “cautious” given the current pressures on “consumer finances, unemployment risk, and the ongoing shift in the footwear product cycle”. It added that it expects to be in line with “current market expectations”.

In relation to tariffs, the sportswear retailer added that it does not consider any direct impacts of US tariffs on JD to be material. However, it would continue to monitor indirect impacts affecting its suppliers and partners.

Schultz added: “Across our regions and fascias, in general, we see a resilient consumer, albeit very selective on their purchases. We therefore remain cautious on the trading environment going into H2. For our FY26 profit before tax and adjusting items, we expect to be in line with current market expectations, before any indirect impact of US tariffs, which we continue to work through.” Schultz concluded: “We are well placed to continue growing our market share in the key growth regions of North America and Europe. We are confident about the medium-term growth prospects for our industry. Reflecting this, we are reaffirming our commitment to enhanced shareholder returns. We are announcing today a new 100 million pounds share buyback following the successful completion of the first 100 million pounds programme last month.”

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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